“Rain or Shine, Happiness with BTS”: Global ARMY Explodes with 2.5 Million Posts for Rainy Goyang Concert Debut
BTS’s highly anticipated ‘ARIRANG’ World Tour officially kicked off its first performance on the 9th (local time) at Goyang Stadium in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Despite the pouring rain, over 40,000 dedicated fans, known as ARMY, remained steadfast in their seats. The global fandom simultaneously erupted online, with a staggering 2.5 million posts flooding X (formerly Twitter) in just 21 hours following the concert.
40,000 Strong: A Resilient Purple Wave Fills Goyang Stadium Amidst Rain
Even before the concert began, the entire Goyang area was transformed into a sea of purple. Fans, adorned in purple umbrellas and raincoats, eagerly queued for entry through the rain, their excitement palpable. The air at the venue buzzed with a mix of languages, including Korean, English, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese, showcasing BTS’s truly global appeal. Evelyn (27, residing in Busan), a fan from Mexico interviewed by AFP, shared her struggle: “Even with fast internet in Korea, I was 80,000th in the queue. It was the hardest ticket to get.” Charina (33) from the Philippines declared, “The rain can’t stop us. I flew all the way from the Philippines just for this one concert.”
An Epic 2.5-Hour, 21-Song Setlist: BTS Delivers a Powerful ‘OT7’ Full Group Message
The concert offered approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes of non-stop performance, featuring a comprehensive 21-song setlist. This included most tracks from their new album ‘ARIRANG’ alongside an array of their biggest hits such as ‘Fake Love’, ‘Dynamite’, ‘Fire’, ‘Mic Drop’, ‘Butter’, ‘Mikrokosmos’, and ‘I Need U’. Notably, there were no solo, unit, rap line, or vocal line stages. The setlist was meticulously crafted to be ‘OT7’ (all 7 members) focused, delivering a powerful message of unity. Fan account @heavenlykkuk encapsulated this sentiment, tweeting, “No solos, no units, no rap line, no vocal line. Pure OT7 setlist. This is how they deliver a message,” a tweet that subsequently garnered tens of thousands of shares.
Of particular excitement for ARMYs, ‘I Need U’ and ‘Not Today’ were performed for the first time since 2021, marking a special return for these beloved tracks. Furthermore, new songs like ‘Merry Go Round’, ‘Come Over’, ‘Please’, and ‘Into the Sun’ made their live stage debut. The grand finale, ‘Into the Sun’, concluded with a spectacular fireworks display, lighting up the Goyang night sky.
Jin Defies Staff to Connect with Fans; All BTS Members Join Audience Tour for Encore
One of the most viral moments of the day was BTS member Jin’s spontaneous act of fan engagement. During the performance of ‘I Need U’, despite staff warnings that it “could be dangerous,” Jin left the main stage to personally descend into the fan section, making direct eye contact and interacting with ARMYs. Videos capturing this heartfelt moment quickly spread across the globe, accumulating over 60,000 likes in just a few hours.
During the highly anticipated encore, all members of BTS descended from the stage. They took a full tour of the audience section, singing new tracks and fan favorites like ‘I Need U’, creating an unforgettable experience for attendees. Domestic fan communities were flooded with glowing reviews, with many exclaiming, “The Bangtan boys walked around the audience singing in the rain, and the cheers erupted!” During ‘Mikrokosmos’, Jin emotionally directed the microphone towards the audience, leading a powerful sing-along that brought many to tears, turning the venue into a truly moving ‘sea of tears’.
Another trending topic was V’s (Taehyung’s) eyebrow piercing. As images from the concert videos appeared to show him with an eyebrow piercing, fans erupted in excitement, with comments like “V’s eyebrow piercing!?!? Goodbye world!” filling social media. Online discussions quickly ensued, debating whether it was a genuine piercing or a specially designed stage accessory.
Global Fandom Roars: Diverse Reactions Across English, Spanish, and Portuguese-Speaking Communities
The immense fan reactions, totaling 2.5 million posts on X within 21 hours, transcended all language barriers. English-speaking fan account @PopBase shared a vivid video from the venue, stating, “BTS performed in the rain on the first day of the ‘ARIRANG’ world tour.” A Brazilian fan @raplinegold excitedly tweeted, “Seeing Fake Love in 2026!” Among Spanish-speaking fans, the phrase “BTS in the rain is cinematic (BTS bajo la lluvia es cinematográfico)” rapidly gained traction, perfectly capturing the magical atmosphere. X AI Grok confirmed that tour-related posts surpassed 2.5 million within 21 hours of the concert’s commencement, highlighting the immense global buzz.
The Goyang leg of the ‘ARIRANG’ tour will continue on the 11th and 12th. Following these dates, BTS is scheduled to move on to Tokyo, then embark on an extensive journey across North America, South America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. The tour boasts over 85 performances in 34 cities across 23 countries, extending until March 2027, promising an epic global spectacle for ARMYs worldwide.
